The present invention relates generally to pinball games and more particularly to a drop target assembly for a pinball game.
In a pinball game, a pinball is propelled into play on a playfield and strikes various elements with each strike typically registering a score. Among these elements are drop targets which are strip-like members mounted for vertical movement between an upper position in which the target member is located above the surface of the playfield and a lower position in which the target member is located below the playfield. The drop target member is normally maintained in its raised position by a latch which permits the target member to drop to its lower position in response to impact, from a pre-determined direction, by a pinball in play on the playfield. When the target member drops from its raised to its lowered position, a score is registered.
Normally, drop target members are arranged in banks or groups, e.g., with four or five drop target members in a group. Conventionally, all target members in a group are elevated simultaneously to their raised positions and initially maintained there, and then each target member is dropped to its lowered position individually in response to the impact of a pinball on that particular drop target member. When all the target members in a group have been dropped to their lowered position, a switch is closed which actuates a mechanism to elevate all of the drop target members in the group simultaneously back to their raised positions, and the entire sequence is then repeated.
The procedure described in the preceding paragraph is conventional for operating a group of drop target members. However, the conventional procedure offers little variation in play and, after awhile, may become dull or boring to the pinball player who typically seeks a variation in challenges to his skill.